Notes / Commercial Description:
Saison Rue is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned, Belgian/French-style farmhouse ale. This is a beer of subtlety and complexity, with malted rye, spicy, fruity yeast notes, biscuit-like malt backbone and a slight citrus hop character. With age, this beer will dry out and will become more complex with rustic notes of leather and earth from the contribution of a wild yeast strain. Being a saison, Saison Rue is ambiguous unto itself as it is a different beer when fresh and when aged.

Reviews by micmillon18:

Poured from a 750 ml bottle into a pint glass. No born on date was found on the bottle.

A - Very nice two finger head sits atop a light amber colored beer. Very carbonated, took awhile for the head to lessen.

S - Banana, rye, spices. Lemon or citrus is also there.

T - Crisp and really tasty. Ripe bananas are present, as well as a slight hint of pear. Very peppery and spicy flavors that play well with the fruit. Has the typical tart, citrus climax of most saisons. Alcohol is quietly present at the end. Just incredibly tasty. Theres just so much going on in this beer. It's sweet and crispy, medium bodied with so much spiciness and fruity yeast notes.

D - Certainly drinkable, but I'm damn near spent finishing the rest of the bottle. Possibly the best saison I've ever had. I'll continue to try more from the Bruery, they have yet to fail me and I'm certainly going to buy this little bit of deliciousness again.

More User Reviews:

Very lively carbonation. Quite a beauty in terms of head--towering almost out of the glass and taking a good while to dissipate, with a caked-on lacing after each sip. Clear amber glow shows off the lively carbonation. Spicy aroma with some herbal, exotic fruit (plantains?) and slight estery alcohol. Pleasant crispness from the carbonation and a real, deep smoothness really enhances the lush medium body. Epic maltiness, sweet and toasty with a spicy flavor from the rye. The rye melds very well with the Brettanomyce's herbal funk and the warming peppery alcohol. Suggestions of ripe plum, start fruit and green banana come to mind. The Brett brings some herbal funk to the taste buds middle to end, but nothing too strange or eclectic. Mild hopping throughout. Finishes semidry with a thick layer of herbal flavor that jumps far into the aftertaste.

Can a beer redefine a style? We'll leave that for debate as Saison Rue bends the style with an array of complexities that unfold as it warms with each sip. One of the top 10 beers we've had in 2008 to date.

A: The beer is hazy golden yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a two finger high white head that died down yet consistently left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface.
S: The aroma is quite spicy from the rye and also has some notes of yeast.
T: Like the smell, the overall taste is rather spicy and the yeast contributes earthy flavors. The spiciness from the rye particularly stands out in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. There is some dryness in the finish.
O: The beer is relatively easy to drink because the alcohol is well hidden, although the spicy flavors make it more of a beer that needs to be sipped.

I picked up a bottle of The Bruery's Saison Rue a few weeks ago for $11.99 at Holiday Market. I've never had a Bruery beer before and I'm interested to see what this brewery is all about, so lets see how it goes. 2014 Vintage. Poured from a brown 750ml bottle into a tulip.

A- The label looks ok, it's pretty simple and it isn't too eye catching, but it does have some nice information about the beer on it. It poured a cloudy slightly golden orange color that took on more of a burnt orange color when held to the light with almost three fingers worth of creamy white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some patchy lacing behind. This was a good looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with some funky brett being the first to show up and it imparts a nice funky barnyard aroma that's a little on the lighter side and it's followed by a vinegar like aroma. Up next comes the fruits which are nice mixture of tropical and citrus fruit aroma with the lemon seeming to stick out the most. Towards the end I get some spicy rye aromas. This beer had a good aroma, both the brett and rye were noticeable, but they weren't dominating.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with some Belgian yeast flavors being the first to show up and they are followed by some brett which is pretty light and only impart a light funky brett flavor with just a slight vinegar like flavor. up next comes the fruits which are the same as they were in the aroma, but this time there's no single fruit that seems to stick out the most. On the finish comes just a little bit of tartness with a slight bit of spicy rye and it had a fruity and Belgian yeast like aftertaste. This was a good tasting beer, but I wish the brett and rye were more noticeable.

M- Smooth, very crisp, pretty prickly, very dry on the finish, medium bodied with a high amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel was good, but it was just a little prickly for me.

Overall I thought this was a good beer and good example of the style, it's still identifiable as a Saison and the brett and rye seem to be in the background, that's not bad, but I found myself wishing that the rye and brett were more noticeable and the belgian yeast showed up in the background. This beer had ok drinkability, it was smooth, very crisp, pretty prickly, very dry on the finish, not too filling and the taste did a nice job at holding my attention, but I think one glass is enough for me any more than that and the prickly carbonation might start to wear on me. What I like the most about this beer was nothing, there isn't any aspect that stood out as being better than the others. What I liked the least about this beer was that brett and rye didn't show up more, they were a little light for my liking. I would buy this beer again, but it isn't anything I'm going to stock up on and I would recommend it to anyone who likes saisons with just a little brett to them, the brett doesn't really take out of the realm of the style. All in all I was happy with this beer and I thought it was a nice Saison, but with that being said, I wasn't overly impressed with it and I don't think it's very memorable. This beer made for a nice first impression for the Bruery and I'm interested in trying more of their beers and I would say it's above the middle as far as Saisons go. Good job guys, this was a nice Saison, keep up the solid work.

Not a style I go to very often but I was in the mood for a little something different last night.Poured into a chalice a deep orane infused amber with a nice fluffy one finger head atop that held very well.Sharp spice mixed with a little funk in the nosesome green apple and phenols rounded it out.The rye really came out on the palate lending some sharpness and a light lactic note,a little funky but it didnt overpower the flavor profile,again some green aplle and clove-like spice as well.I really liked the saison it's complex but not over the top in its funkiness.

Appearance: Pours a beautiful, hazy amber with a soft, big off-white head that lingers. Good amount of bubbles race through this.

Smell: Orange peel, fruitiness, and the funk. Oh, the funk.

Taste: Oh, this is an interesting twist on a saison for sure. Chewy. Yeasty. Clove notes. Definitely the rye. Some apple and grape taste. So many more notes keep coming through. Very complex. I wish NG would have made their Saison a little more complex like this.

Mouthfeel: This is a fuller-bodied beer than, say, the aforementioned NG Saison, but is still pretty medium bodied overall. Aftertaste is pretty sweet and not overly yeasty. Very smooth overall.

Attractive brown 750 ml bottle with a simple but attractive label pours, no gushes, into my Watney Mann World Cup chalice. A massive off-white head lasts and lasts, demanding patience. Loads of carbonation streams dance in the slightly hazy amber-orange liquid in my glass. Orange rind, pear, plum, and loads of grapefruit mingle in the aroma. Touches of pine mix with earth and hints of moldy bread follow.

My first impression of the taste is take three steps back from all the pepper. This is a very spicy beer, and black pepper dominates the spice profile. Fruit yeast flavors, typical of a saison follow. The Brett doesn't stand out much but this is a young bottle. I would bet this would improve over a year or two. Still, this is a perfectly enjoyable beer as it is. The body is highly viscous and the combination of assertive piney hops and tingling, almost champagne like carbonation makes for a lively and pleasurable mouthfeel. Grape fruit flavors are pronounced but bready malts come through too. Though not blown away, I would count this as a solid beer to return for more tastings in the future.

T: Taste is quite fresh with pleasant fruit esters (lemon, oranges) and notes of grass on top of some malts. A strangely prominent note of mint develops early on and lingers on into the finish. A very faint hint of brett. Gentle spices. The finish is mildy bitter with notes of wheat, mint and herbal hops. A bit edgy, yet reasonably smooth.

M: Medium body, rather full considering the style. Very lively carbonation.

D: A decent saison with an interesting character. The minty aromas are a bit strange and the brett is really faint, but it will be nice to see what a year or to in the cellar will do to this one.

Reviewed from notes on 10/15/10. Received this from zoso1967 and enjoyed it with BuckyFresh.

A: SR pours a beautiful cloudy gold into a snifter. A pillowy, pure white head rests at about one and a half fingers. The lacing is clumpy and forms in thick large chunks. The head retention is good.

S: Huge whiffs of lemon and peppery spiciness fill my nostrils. Large Belgian yeasts are very present. The overwhelming impression of the smell is that of a fresh spring morning. A lot of Granny Smith apple crispness emanates from the beer, as well.

T: This is a very springy and fresh taste. A lovely peppery spice complements a lemon, banana, and Granny Smith apple fruitiness. The malts and spicy hops are very upfront in the taste, which is somewhat of a departure from a typical Saison, but it is a quality that I really like. The lingering hop bitterness is earthy and chewy.

M: Very drying and fresh. A sparkly medium bodied effervescence leads to a puckering hop finish that cleans off the palate well.

D: This beer is very nice for the style and I could enjoy it for a long time. I will look for this one again, for sure.

A: A light copper with a slight haze. The head is made of rocky, off-white bubbles and leaves thick lacing on the glass.

S: The specialty grains, rye and Brett stand out in the nose along with some spice and fruit from the yeast. There is an earthy hops aroma and some alcohol.

T: There is a lot going on in here with the Brett, Rye and Belgian yeast character dominating. The Rye adds spice to the clove and pepper flavors already in there from the Belgian yeast which also brought some light fruit character of peaches and oranges. The moderate Brett is a little horsey and a little bubblegum but unmistakable. There is a slight plum character as well. The hops bitterness is moderate and bring an earthy character to the flavor. The balance is fairly dry with just a little bit of sweetness while the finish runs out to very dry.

M: A medium-light bodied beer with moderately-strong carbonation.

O: A funky, spicy Saison with an enjoyable addition of Brett and rye character.

T - Light malt, a bit of sweetness from the rye, delicate hop notes but not much bitterness. There is a tartness from the brett, but not much since it was a young beer. Ends a touch boozy.

M - Moderate body, which was a little surprising, usually a Saison and especially a beer with brett will be more dry. Lots of carbonation with the high alcohol content clean it up at the end and give a nice warmth.

Gusher alert!! Cap pops and beer goes everywhere. Pours a hazy orange with lots of sediment and a four finger head that caps above the glass. Damn! Aromas of spicy malts with a distinct rye twang. Earthy yeast accents and a touch of Brett funk.

Crisp and full flavored malts upfront with some rye spiciness colliding with earthy yeast and a touch of Brett funk again in the flavor. Some peppery notes and a bit of citrus. Goes down with a spicy yeasty kick.

Mouthfeel is lighter with big fast moving carbonation. Quite refreshing and a nice twist on a saison with a darker malt profile than most. Tasty brew overall and if it wasn't a gusher I would've been even happier.